Bill Text: CA SB963 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 963

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Hospitals: self-identification procedure: human trafficking or domestic violence.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-09-26 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 616, Statutes of 2024. [SB963 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB963-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate April 02, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 963

Introduced by Senator Ashby

January 23, 2024

An act to add Section 1281.5 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to health facilities.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 963, as amended, Ashby. Health facilities: self-identifying human trafficking system.

Existing law provides for the licensing, regulation, and inspection of various types of health facilities by the State Department of Public Health, including general acute care hospitals. Existing law imposes certain requirements on licensed general acute care hospitals, including, among others, maintaining a medical records system and complying with the standards for the examination and treatment of victims of sexual assault and attempted sexual assault, as specified. Existing law generally makes a violation of these provisions a misdemeanor.

Existing law makes it a crime of human trafficking for a person to deprive or violate the personal liberty of another with the intent to obtain forced labor or services, or with the intent to effect or maintain any violation of specified crimes.

This bill would require all general acute care hospitals with an emergency department to ~~make a self-identifying human trafficking system available to patients at the emergency department.~~ adopt and implement policies and procedures to facilitate the self-identification of an emergency department patient as a victim of human trafficking, as defined, or domestic violence to hospital personnel. The bill would require the ~~system~~ policies and procedures to meet certain minimum requirements, including, among others, ~~providing~~ provide for patient confidentiality and ~~facilitating immediate interviews with~~ a reasonably prompt and private interview of the patient by medical personnel. The bill would ~~also require the system to,~~ require a general acute care hospital subject to these provisions to, at minimum, collect specified information. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.Section 1281.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:
1281.5.
~~(a)All general acute care hospitals with an emergency department shall make a self-identifying human trafficking system available to patients at the emergency department.~~
~~(b)The system shall meet the following minimum requirements:~~
~~(1)Provide patient confidentiality.~~
~~(2) Facilitate an immediate interview with medical personnel.~~
~~(3)Refer patients to local services and resources for victims of human trafficking and domestic violence.~~
~~(c)The system shall collect, at minimum, the total number, ages, and racial demographics of patients who self-identify as a victim of human trafficking.~~

SECTION 1.

Section 1281.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

1281.5.
(a) All general acute care hospitals with an emergency department shall adopt and implement policies and procedures to facilitate the self-identification of an emergency department patient as a victim of human trafficking or domestic violence to hospital personnel.
(b) The policies and procedures adopted and implemented pursuant to subdivision (a) shall meet all of the following minimum requirements:
(1) Provide for patient confidentiality.
(2) Provide an emergency department patient with a safe and discreet means of informing hospital personnel that they are a victim of human trafficking or domestic violence.
(3) Facilitate a reasonably prompt and private interview of the patient by medical personnel.
(4) Refer patients to local services and resources for victims of human trafficking or domestic violence, if any.
(5) Incorporate principles of trauma-informed care.
(c) Every general acute care hospital subject to this section shall, at minimum, collect the total number, ages, and racial demographics of patients who self-identify as a victim of human trafficking or domestic violence, to the extent that this information is provided by the patient.
(d) (1) A general acute care hospital subject to this section shall not be required to report the identities of any patients who self-identify as a victim of human trafficking or domestic violence to the department or to any law enforcement agency, except as may be required pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 11160) or Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 11164) of Chapter 2 of Title 1 of Part 4 of the Penal Code, or Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 15600) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(2) A general acute care hospital subject to this section shall not be liable for damages for any subsequent injuries inflicted by a trafficker or abuser upon a patient who self-identified as a victim of human trafficking or domestic violence.
(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) “Human trafficking” has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 236.1 of the Penal Code.
(2) “Domestic violence” has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 6211 of the Family Code or Section 13700 of the Penal Code.

SEC. 2.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.